Foxconn says third quarter to outperform market expectations on AI strength

TAIPEI, Sept. 5 (Reuters) - Foxconn's third-quarter performance is expected to outperform market expectations given strong AI-related demand, the Taiwanese contract electronics maker said on Saturday, though it offered caution about "volatile" global politics.

Foxconn, Nvidia's biggest server maker and a major Apple supplier, has been a big beneficiary of the trend towards AI, reporting last month a 35% rise in second-quarter profit that beat analyst forecasts.

"In the third quarter, as AI demand continues to grow, and ICT products also enter the peak season of the second half of the year, operations are expected to gradually gain momentum," it said in a statement, referring to information and communication technology.

"Currently, the company's visibility for the third quarter has improved compared to the previous month, with overall performance expected to outperform market expectations," it added, without giving details.

However, Foxconn said it remained necessary to "monitor the impact of the volatile global political and economic situation". It likewise did not elaborate.

Foxconn, formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry, does not provide numerical forecasts.

It said revenue last month rose 51.98% from a year earlier to T$921.8 billion ($29.15 billion), the highest amount ever for August and the second month in a row it has exceeded T$900 billion.

Foxconn's shares closed up 3.4% on Friday, before the revenue data was released, outperforming the broader market's .TWII 1.5% gain.

($1 = 31.6210 Taiwan dollars)